Taprobrana and The Search for Atlantis

Plato told the story of Atlantis around 360 BC. About 30 years later, Alexander the Great invaded India and Nearchus and Onesicritus who accompanied him on his campaigns described Taprobana for the first time. About another 30 years later Seleucus Nicator sent Megasthenes as ambassador to Sandracottus (Chandragupta Maurya) in 302 BC where Taprobana was also described.

The story of Atlantis has been an object of fascination among western philosophers and historians. Of course, Alexander the Great was not lost his attention on the supreme land. The descriptions of Atlantis by Plato were very clear and in details, but the search for Atlantis around the Mediterranean Sea did not return any results. It can be presumed that Alexander thought that Atlantis was not in the area but in Far East, in the Indian Ocean. During his invasion to India, Atlantis was allegedly discovered, but this discovery was kept into confidential and obscured with other name, Taprobana by Nearchus and Onesicritus, including its location. His conquering for India was defeated by Chandragupta but an alliance was formed. After his death, Seleucus continued the alliance and the secrecy of Atlantis and Taprobana were still kept. Megasthenes described Taprobana in a little more detailed.

In the reign of Claudius, four people from the island of Taprobana were dispatched as embassy to the Roman. Again, Claudius and the former emperors should not have lost his attention about Atlantis. Being described very clearly and in details, he could think that Taprobana was part of the Atlantis.

The following emperors should know that Taprobana was part of Atlantis but they kept on continuing the secrecy. Taprobana was spoken by some writers during this time. In the reign of Antoninus Pius (138 – 161 AD), Taprobana was mapped in details by Ptolemy. Again, the Roman Empire possibly deliberately kept the location in secret and obscured it. The original maps of Ptolemy were lost, an indication that they wanted to hide.

In the 6th century AD, the name Taprobana had vanished. After the fall of Rome, European geography entered a dark age more profound than that of most other disciplines, and facts about Taprobana and Atlantis were buried. Many ancient books and scholarly works, especially those housed at the Library at Alexandria, was lost for over a thousand years. At the end of the 1400s, Plato and Ptolemy’s works were rediscovered; Atlantis and Taprobana became popular once again.

The Western colonialization in Asia involving Britain, France, Portugal and the Netherlands was allegedly inspired by the allurement of Taprobana as well as Atlantis. This was sparked early in the 15th century by the search for trade routes to the Far East that led directly to the Age of Discovery, and the introduction of early modern warfare. By the early 16th century, the Age of Sail greatly expanded Western European influence and development of the Spice Trade under colonialism. The cartographers of this era should have known that Taprobrana is Kalimantan, visible in the great similarities of the geographic layout, locations, features, names and descriptions of the island and its surroundings among Ptolemy’s and their maps.

More here: http://atlantisjavasea.com/2015/09/26/taprobana-is-not-sri-lanka-nor-sumatera-but-kalimantan/